My mom often makes a soup, keeps it in the fridge for over 10 days (it usually is left overnight on a turned off stove or crockpot before the fridge), then boils it and eats it. She insists it’s safe and has zero risk. I find it really gross because even if the bacteria are killed, they had to have made a lot of waste in the 10-15 days the soup sits and grows mold/foul right?!
But she insists its normal and I’m wrong. So can someone explain to me, someone with low biology knowledge, if it’s safe or not…and why she shouldn’t be doing this if she shouldn’t?
Every food safety guide implies you should throw soup out within 3-4 days to prevent getting ill.
Edit: I didn’t mean to be misleading with the words indefinitely either. I guess I should have used periodically boiling. She’ll do it every few days (then leave it out with no heat for at least 12 but sometimes up to 48 before a quick reboil and fridge).
In: Biology
Lot’s of bad info here about perpetual stews. They were NOT exclusively heated 24/7. In old Inn’s and taverns of medieval era, yes they were because they were required to have warm food available 24/7 by law. However, in most homes they did not have the resources to keep the fire going hot that much. I have, and I know many others, have kept large pots that get boiled every day with new ingredients, and consumption. Although bacteria can technically grow in the conditions in between boiling, so too can bacteria grow when you’re eating it. It’s literally in your mouth, stomach, intestines, crawling on your skin, etc. However, within 24 hours, except for special strains in special conditions (usually labs), there will very, very rarely be enough bacteria (and much fewer bacteriophages) that will have grown. After all, growth is only exponential with a very slow start. As long as some old is consumed, and some new introduced to the pot, illness is extremely unlikely.
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